Forget advanced analytics, draft capital and payroll flexibility — apparently, a team needs just Will Smith to win the World Series.
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With the Los Angeles Dodgers defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games on Saturday night, a team with a player named Will Smith on their active roster has won the Fall Classic six years in a row.
The Dodgers accomplished the feat in 2020 and 2024 with catcher Will Smith, while the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers swapped reliever Will Smith among them from 2021-23.
What’s even odder about this stat is that Will Smith doesn’t even need to dominate in the World Series to win. While Will Smith the pitcher has put up a respectable 3.38 ERA in his three World Series, Will Smith the catcher has a batting average of .194 with 14 hits, four homers, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored in 80 career Fall Classic plate appearances.
But those numbers don’t tell the full tale of the latter’s impact.
On Saturday night, Smith hit the first extra-inning home run in a winner-take-all World Series game in MLB history. It was his fourth career go-ahead homer in the postseason, tying Javy López and Gene Tenace for the second most by a catcher all time, behind only Johnny Bench with five. He also became the first catcher to homer in a Game 7 of the World Series since David Ross did it in 2016, and only the sixth catcher ever to do it. The ball he hit in the 10th inning traveled 366 feet — the exact same distance as Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement’s flyout with bases loaded that ended the ninth.
WILL SMITH BELTS THIS TO BEL AIR 🤯
THE @DODGERS TAKE THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/7C3nsybc7M
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025
For good measure, the Dodgers clinched their back-to-back championship by turning a game-ending double play, making them just the third team ever to clinch the World Series in that fashion.
While Will Smith the catcher is locked up on the Dodgers for a while, Will Smith the pitcher last signed a one-year $5 million contract with the Kansas City Royals in December 2023 and is a free agent.
ESPN Research contributed to this story.
